David Baxter PhD
Late Founder
"We Reject Psychology"
by Lawrence Russell Taylor, PhD.
December 28, 2008
I recently asked Larry Taylor to write an article addressing the idea that Christian Psychology is some sort of farce with no validation. I made the request because I have witnessed the fruit of that mindset. What follows is Larry?s response. It?s to the point and doesn?t mince words. I wish I [had] asked sooner. Thanks to Larry for taking the time to write this article. God bless each of you. Allan
?We reject psychology?
Several years ago, I was asked to write the preliminary draft of a revised denominational statement of faith. In an initial review, a leader in the denomination asked me to add the sentence: ?We reject psychology?.
At the time, I thought that was probably the dumbest request I had ever heard, akin to insisting that the world is flat and held on the back of a muscular demigod.
Then a friend called me who had been deeply hurt by pastors in his denomination asserting that, ?Mental illness doesn?t exist? and ?Repentance of sin is all that is needed?, and again, ?The Bible contains all truth.? It was at that point that I realized that the anti-psychology ideology is not only profoundly stupid, but also acutely painful.
By definition, psychology is the study of human behavior. Every advertising campaign and sales pitch is backed by marketing psychology. Industrial psychology is behind every human resource department in every business. Sports psychologists motivate athletes. Psychology is responsible for what we know about childhood development. It is behind every educational technique in every classroom. To say, ?I don?t believe in psychology? or ?We reject psychology? is like saying, ?We reject architecture?, or ?I don?t believe in kittens?.
Abnormal psychology is the study of people who are consistently unable to function in healthful ways because of mental disorders, which may be caused by some combination of socialization, reasoning patterns, genetic makeup, learning, and physical condition. The most serious mental disorders have been proven beyond argument to be caused by physiological malfunction. Major depression, bipolar disorder, and all the schizophrenic disorders are the result of malfunctions in the chemistry of the brain.
Electronic impulses travel across brain cells called neurons in our brains, then are transformed into chemical impulses as they leap the gaps from cell to cell. A complex mix of chemicals enables those impulses, which control thoughts and feelings, to continue. Just as a diabetic?s blood sugar is out of balance, requiring insulin, the depressed or schizophrenic person?s brain chemistry is out of balance, requiring medical pharmacological intervention.
Biochemistry, psychobiology, neurological psychology, pharmacology, and the medical discipline of psychiatry are blending to give us increasing insights into mental illness.
It is not only inaccurate, it is cruel for a Christian Scientist to tell a person suffering from cancer that her melanoma is a figment of her imagination and can be overcome with positive thinking.
It is no less wrong and cruel for an undereducated fundamentalist to write a book that leads depressed people to conclude that their problem is sin rather than a chemical imbalance. That is not to imply that all of us do not have sin from which we need to repent, but the primary problem is medical in case of most mental illness.
It is even more cruel for a pastor to violate the essence of pastoral care by teaching inaccurate science that condemns hurting people.
Fundamentalism, whether Christian, Islamic, or Buddhist, is based on ignorance and fear. It is a world view that sees itself under siege from infidels and seeks to create an understandable and controllable world. It leads to legalism, wooden literalism, and intolerance of those perceived to be outsiders. It resorts to distortion, lies, propaganda, hatred, and slander to destroy its enemies. It is diametrically opposite the teachings of Jesus, and is best avoided.
by Lawrence Russell Taylor, PhD.
December 28, 2008
I recently asked Larry Taylor to write an article addressing the idea that Christian Psychology is some sort of farce with no validation. I made the request because I have witnessed the fruit of that mindset. What follows is Larry?s response. It?s to the point and doesn?t mince words. I wish I [had] asked sooner. Thanks to Larry for taking the time to write this article. God bless each of you. Allan
?We reject psychology?
Several years ago, I was asked to write the preliminary draft of a revised denominational statement of faith. In an initial review, a leader in the denomination asked me to add the sentence: ?We reject psychology?.
At the time, I thought that was probably the dumbest request I had ever heard, akin to insisting that the world is flat and held on the back of a muscular demigod.
Then a friend called me who had been deeply hurt by pastors in his denomination asserting that, ?Mental illness doesn?t exist? and ?Repentance of sin is all that is needed?, and again, ?The Bible contains all truth.? It was at that point that I realized that the anti-psychology ideology is not only profoundly stupid, but also acutely painful.
By definition, psychology is the study of human behavior. Every advertising campaign and sales pitch is backed by marketing psychology. Industrial psychology is behind every human resource department in every business. Sports psychologists motivate athletes. Psychology is responsible for what we know about childhood development. It is behind every educational technique in every classroom. To say, ?I don?t believe in psychology? or ?We reject psychology? is like saying, ?We reject architecture?, or ?I don?t believe in kittens?.
Abnormal psychology is the study of people who are consistently unable to function in healthful ways because of mental disorders, which may be caused by some combination of socialization, reasoning patterns, genetic makeup, learning, and physical condition. The most serious mental disorders have been proven beyond argument to be caused by physiological malfunction. Major depression, bipolar disorder, and all the schizophrenic disorders are the result of malfunctions in the chemistry of the brain.
Electronic impulses travel across brain cells called neurons in our brains, then are transformed into chemical impulses as they leap the gaps from cell to cell. A complex mix of chemicals enables those impulses, which control thoughts and feelings, to continue. Just as a diabetic?s blood sugar is out of balance, requiring insulin, the depressed or schizophrenic person?s brain chemistry is out of balance, requiring medical pharmacological intervention.
Biochemistry, psychobiology, neurological psychology, pharmacology, and the medical discipline of psychiatry are blending to give us increasing insights into mental illness.
It is not only inaccurate, it is cruel for a Christian Scientist to tell a person suffering from cancer that her melanoma is a figment of her imagination and can be overcome with positive thinking.
It is no less wrong and cruel for an undereducated fundamentalist to write a book that leads depressed people to conclude that their problem is sin rather than a chemical imbalance. That is not to imply that all of us do not have sin from which we need to repent, but the primary problem is medical in case of most mental illness.
It is even more cruel for a pastor to violate the essence of pastoral care by teaching inaccurate science that condemns hurting people.
Fundamentalism, whether Christian, Islamic, or Buddhist, is based on ignorance and fear. It is a world view that sees itself under siege from infidels and seeks to create an understandable and controllable world. It leads to legalism, wooden literalism, and intolerance of those perceived to be outsiders. It resorts to distortion, lies, propaganda, hatred, and slander to destroy its enemies. It is diametrically opposite the teachings of Jesus, and is best avoided.
but this one I embrace *entirely* 
